Chapter 38 #2
Beric was writhing on the ground, his screams echoing off the cave walls. His friend knelt beside him, panicked and trying to calm him. But it was as if Beric couldn’t see him. Didn’t acknowledge anyone, his eyes glassy, mouth open in horror.
“I don’t know!” his friend cried. “He just started screaming and I can’t figure out why.” He shook his companion’s shoulders. “Beric, can you hear me? Beric!”
Nothing but screams and whimpers as he clawed at his arms, blood dripping onto the sandy floor from deep gashes he left in his flesh.
Casimir knelt on his other side. “What hurts? What’s wrong?”
“It burns! My skin is burning! Make it stop! I can’t see!”
“He’s blind?” someone whispered.
“Remove his clothing,” Maeryn suggested. “There is something we’re missing.”
Casimir used his dagger to cut off Beric’s shirt as his friend made quick work of his pants and boots. Casimir began to peel off the tunic, when Ava saw it.
“Get back!” she yelled, lunging and shoving Casimir away.
A small yellow scorpion, only a couple inches in length, skittered out from Beric’s shirt, headed straight for Casimir. Ava stomped on it with her boot before it had the chance to sting anyone else.
Blowing out a breath, her shoulders slumped.
“What was that?” Raine asked.
“You don’t know? You don’t have scorpions in the rest of Eorhan?”
“No,” Imsel said.
“Scorpion?” Beric’s friend asked, Beric now whimpering and moaning beside him.
“They’re arachnids like spiders. But they’re in their own order.”
Everyone looked at her like she’d spoken a different language.
“Right. You all have no idea what I’m talking about.” She shook her head. “You really don’t know about them?”
“We know quite a bit about the wildlife in Eorhan,” Gisela said. “But no one comes to the Wastelands. We may have learned about them as children, but I don’t remember anything like this…”
“Well…They have venom they deliver through a stinger on their back. It’s very painful and a couple of species in the human world are dangerous.
But they don’t cause blindness that I’m aware of.
I think the scorpions here might be worse…
” Ava knelt next beside Beric, scanning his torso.
“See? There.” She pointed to a swollen mark on his shoulder. “He was stung.”
“How can we help him?” Casimir asked, bewildered.
“If we were in the human world, we’d take him to a healing facility, and they usually have what’s called antivenin that can halt the progression in most people.”
“But we don’t have that,” Raine said.
“No. We don’t.”
Beric gasped and choked. His friend began to panic. “Oh gods, he can’t breathe!”
“Jareth,” Casimir said. “Use your healing magic. Help him.”
Jareth shook his head. “I cannot do anything regarding poisons or venom.” He knelt anyway, evaluating Beric.
The other soldier released a small cry as he held his friend’s hand.
Jareth stood, shaking his head. “He’s dying. I can’t stop it.”
After a few more minutes, Beric’s breaths stopped, his eyes vacant and unseeing.
He was gone.
His friend murmured their kingdom’s prayer to the Earth Mother, bowing his head. The rest of the group moved to the other side of the cave, giving him space to grieve, Casimir staying to honor his fallen soldier.
“This is just great. Does this mean if we get stung by one of those tiny monsters, we’ll perish?” Raine whispered harshly.
“It appears that way,” Gisela said.
“How long until dawn?” Maeryn asked.
“A couple of hours,” Imsel answered. “But we mustn’t leave the cave before then. There are likely even more foul nocturnal beasts out there.”
As if on cue, a yowl echoed from outside, far in the distance. The sound raked across Ava’s flesh, leaving goosebumps in its wake. She’d never heard anything like it. A mix between a humanoid scream and something feline.
“What was that?” she whispered.
Imsel shrugged.
Ava fidgeted with her braid, scanning the cave for more scorpions. So far, she didn’t see any, but they were excellent at hiding.
“Since you know about these creatures, how do we avoid them?” Casimir asked as he approached.
“Watch where you sit or step. And don’t pick anything up without care.
They like to hide in dark places. Under rocks.
There could be some hiding among our supplies.
We’ll need to shake everything out before we leave.
The ones I know only sting when threatened.
They prefer to run away and hide. But I can’t be certain if that applies to these. ”
“Are you saying Beric threatened it and that’s how he got stung?” Raine asked.
“No. It likely crawled into his shirt looking for warmth and he rolled over on it or something.”
“What’s the plan, Cas?” Raine asked.
He scanned the cave. “We stay here. Finish our sleep in shifts with more than just one of us keeping watch. Then we leave at first light.”
“And shake out your bedroll before you lie back down. To ensure there are none hiding,” Ava added.
“We will bury Beric as soon as we can find some soft ground to honor him,” Casimir added. “Everyone try to get some rest. This is just our first day. There will be more danger to come, and we must be ready for it.”